Amazon Eyes Bessemer for a Fulfillment Center
Amazon could be coming to Bessemer. This isn’t the coveted second headquarters that more than 200 cities competed to lure. It’s a fulfillment center, and if it happens, it would mean quite a few jobs, according to The Birmingham Business Journal, which broke the story.
“At this point we know this site’s being strongly considered for it,” says Birmingham Business Journal editor Ty West. “We know it’s not a done deal.”
West says the site under consideration is property owned by U.S. Steel along I-20/59 near Bessemer City High School and Alabama Splash Adventure. The fulfillment center would employ 1,500 people but that number would likely grow based on trends at similar facilities.
Amazon has expanded its network of fulfillment centers, where packages are sorted and distributed. Last year, the BBJ found Birmingham was the largest market in the U.S. without an existing center or one in the works. The potential Bessemer center would include opportunities for job training for high school students. Amazon would also run buses through Bessemer neighborhoods to pick up employees without reliable transportation.
“It would give a lot of people in Bessemer who have no access to an automobile an opportunity to work at a leading global company,” says West.
West says incentive packages from the state, Jefferson County and Bessemer are still being developed, but he expects them to come before public boards in the coming weeks. He says public documents indicate construction could start as early as this summer with a goal of opening the fulfillment center by the 2019 holiday season.
Trump says he will pause tariffs for 90 days, but not for China
The president announced he would be hiking tariffs on China to 125% "effective immediately," but said he was pausing them on other U.S. trading partners to allow time for trade negotiations.
House GOP leaders prepare budget vote, daring dissenters to oppose Trump
House GOP leaders are moving ahead with a budget plan that is meant to pave the way for future votes on President Trump's domestic agenda, but members within their own party oppose the bill. Some dissenters have remained opposed to the bill, despite pressure from leaders and Trump himself.
This former influencer gave up her smartphone. She says you should, too
August Lamm became an accidental influencer by posting pictures of her art online – until she reached a breaking point and got rid of her smartphone. Now, she's advocating for others to do the same.
Trump administration backs off Nvidia’s ‘H20’ chip crackdown after Mar-a-Lago dinner
The White House was expected to ban sales of the high-performance AI chip to China. Chinese companies had been stockpiling the chip but now the Trump administration is backing off.
The Israeli troop killing of a U.S. teen in the West Bank sparks outrage
The killing of a Palestinian American teen by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank has sparked an outcry from relatives and community members in the Palestinian territory as well as the U.S.
If Planet Nine is out there, this telescope might actually find it
A powerful new observatory is the best hope yet for finding the elusive Planet 9, a large planet that some scientists say is hidden in our solar system.